FIBA World Championships

As the telltale economic numbers will eventually show, productivity was down across America on Wednesday afternoon. Such is the result of a nation shutting down to catch the riveting drama that is U.S.-Greece international basketball. Or not. Somehow, we’re having a hard time getting caught up in World Championships fever. So, for that matter, apparently…

You can read about as much into the USA win over Greece Wednesday as you can the final NFL exhibition game of the season. All 12 USA players saw the court in the first half. Greece didn’t even suit up its two best big men. Because these teams could meet in games that really matter…

For the first half of the 1990s in the NFL, the NFC championship game was the defacto Super Bowl. Dallas and San Francisco (usually) played that game with everyone knowing full well they would crush whomever they met in the Super Bowl. That’s pretty much how the FIBA World Championships will go. If the USA…

Kevin Love got smacked on the head pretty good in the United States win over Lithuania Saturday then did not play on Sunday. But don’t read anything into that, he is good to go and likely will see the court against Greece Wednesday. The reason he didn’t play Sunday was it was just one day…

Team USA right now is a basketball version of The Amazing Race. Thirteen players set out on the same flight for Madrid, Spain, where they had to complete tasks against Lithuania and Spain. Having successfully finished those, it is on to Greece where a new task awaits them. In Greece, somebody is going to…

Jose Calderon battled a lingering hamstring issue through much of the 08-09 season, which has to make everyone a little hesitant at this news: Calderon is out of the World Championships for Spain after injuring his hamstring against the USA in an exhibition game Sunday. He will be out a month, according to the Toronto…

Every soccer (or football, if you’re elitist and so prefer) player on the planet would give his right hamstring to play for his nation in the World Cup. It is, without question, the biggest stage for the biggest sport in the world. Everyone who can stand, plays. Basketball’s World Championships start Saturday, with many of…

This doesn’t tell you everything about the game — check out our recap for that — but it does show you some nifty passing from from Ricky Rubio, some solid play from Chauncey Billups, Cristiano Ronaldo, how much we miss Juan Carlos Navaro, plus Pau Gasol and his very hot girlfriend. The actual game felt…

Rubio this, Rubio that. Ricky Rubio is the future of NBA point guards. Rubio is the greatest star for Spain. But in reality, this all overlooks the real driving force of Spain in Juan Carlos Navarro. Navarro, who has played with FC Barcelona since 1997, played a lone season with the Memphis Grizzlies. He was…

Brazil was coming into the World Championships with maybe the best front line at the party — Nene, Anderson Varejao and soon-to-be-Spur Tiago Splitter. But now Nene will miss the tournament and Varejao continues to miss games leading up to the tournament. Nene, of the Denver Nuggets, injured his leg in a warm up game…

That was almost very very bad. Team USA played disastrously bad against Lithuania for a half, trailing by multiple scores before turning the jets on in the second half and riding their athleticism to a 77-61 win Sunday afternoon. The big problem for Team USA? You can take your pick, but shooting is likely the…

Canada’s just not ready for Matt Bonner. Bonner, who married a Canadian woman in 2008, had applied for expedited Canadian citizenship in order to be ready to compete in the World Championships for the Canadian team this summer. But via FanHouse, we learn from the Globe and Mail that Bonner has been denied accelerated Candian…

Team USA continues its exhibition schedule against international competition in advance of the FIBA World Championship today with a game against Lithuania. It’s an opportunity for USA to test their progress against a better team than the China squad they faced last weekend. Lithuania’s team may be made up primarily of second-tier players (like Team…

It was a non-contact, no scrimmage, just run through the drills and offense kind of day for Team USA. You know, those practices you hated in high school. But it was a good one for Stephen Curry, because he was back on the court. He had missed a couple days of practice with a mild…

The basketball Hall of Fame thing gets confusing. Because just one week ago we had inductions into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, which is the one we Americans tend to think of first. But there is also the FIBA Hall of Fame. And there is no NBA Hall of Fame, it just kind…

It’s not a coincidence that the same franchises seem to win year after year in basketball (both NBA and college). Talent is part of that, true. But even as talent changes over year after year, decade after decade, certain teams rise to the top. They have a culture of winning, something that runs from the…

And somewhere in Maui, for a reason unbeknownst to him, Don Nelson felt a chill go up his spine…. In the final minutes of a Team USA practice scrimmage Wednesday, Stephen Curry went down with a twisted ankle, according to John Schuhman of NBA.com. The team is calling it mild and he is day-to-day. Team…

UPDATE 12:02 pm: The Brazilian doctors have taken an MRI of Varejao’s right ankle and there is no serious damage. In fact, he could play tomorrow, according to Cleveland AP writer Tom Withers. Also, the Cavaliers have spoken to Varejao and know this is nothing serious. 8:56 am: Cleveland’s Anderson Varejao suffered an ankle injury…

As expected, Team USA routed France, 86-55. We talk about how Team USA is sending a “B” team to the World Championships (Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Melo and more are staying home) but France also has six NBA players not suiting up, including Tony Parker. So what we know for one thing is that the basketball…

JaVale McGee is a freak athlete, but that alone is not enough to get you on Team USA. McGee himself announced that he has been cut from Team USA via his twitter account this morning. The Bad new is….. I got cut from the USA team :(… But i get to go back and work…

Rucker Park in Harlem is a hoops Mecca, home of legendary players, the And1 mix tapes and some serious ball. As part of the Nike World Basketball Festival, Kobe Bryant was out there running a clinic, right after Michael Jordan and Dwyane Wade had dropped in for an event. Then the world came to Rucker…

UPDATE 8:30 pm: Looks like when Team USA hops on a plane for exhibition “friendlies” in Europe next week, they will bring more than the 12 they can suit up in Turkey. That’s what Coach K told ESPN: “The chances of us having more than 12 on the plane Monday are good, but it may…

Kevin Durant is what you want to lead your team — an unselfish superstar. A guy who wants to play a true team game, a guy willing to pass the rock. Too willing, Mike Krzyzewski told the Associated Press. He wants Durant to shoot the rock. “They look to him all the time,” Krzyzewski said…

JaVale McGee came off the bench on a weak Washington Wizards team last season. Yet me may well make Team USA and suit up for the squad at the World Championships in Turkey. Which illustrates just how short the American squad is on big men (Remember Brook Lopez Amar’e Stoudemire and David Lee had to…